When The Guest Becomes The Host

July 17, 2022

Gen. 18:1-10a; Lk. 10:38-42

Rev. Mary Erickson

Hope Lutheran Church

When the Guest Becomes the Host

Friends, may grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and Christ Jesus our Lord.

There’s a joy surrounding hospitality. It’s a delight to welcome people into your home, to make them comfortable and create an atmosphere of warm acceptance. And it’s also such a gracious feeling to be the one who is welcomed in turn.

We have two different stories today in our Bible readings about guests. In the first story, from Genesis, the guests arrive unannounced. In the story from Luke, Mary extends an invitation. In both stories, someone is the host: Abraham and Sarah in Genesis, and in Luke, Martha and her two siblings. And in both stories, there is a heavenly guest. But something happens in both stories where the guest is the one who gives and provides. In that sense, they become the host.

We find Abraham sitting in the doorway of his tent, trying to catch a breeze during the heat of the day. It was siesta time. Abraham had pitched his tent near a big oak tree. Three men appeared, walking across the barren terrain. They must have shimmered in the heat. Why would anyone be walking during that time of day? That was dangerous and could cost you your life!

I lived for one summer in Arizona, in Phoenix. It was VERY hot! When someone came to your house, the very first think you asked them was, “Would you like a glass of water?” There was an urgency about it, too. You didn’t wait around until they were nicely settled into their seat. Seeing to their physical need for hydration was pressing.

Necessity forms the shape of hospitality. Abraham found himself in just such a dry and hot climate like Arizona. These travelers needed attention! He wastes no time in seeing to their needs. Even in the heat of the day, Abraham scurries about like a man on a mission.

Then something unusual happens. Abraham and Sarah receive the blessing of the Lord. The guest becomes their host. He announces that Abraham and Sarah will be blessed with a son.

The heavenly guest blesses Sarah and Abraham. There’s an old Gaelic rune, “I Saw a Stranger Yestere’en.” It speaks of this reverse divine hospitality:

I saw a stranger yestere’en.

I put food in the eating place,

drink in the drinking place,

music in the listening place,

and in the name of the Triune,

he blessed myself and my house,

my cattle and my loved ones.

And the lark said in her song:

Often, often, often goes the Christ

in the stranger's guise.

In the second story Martha invites Jesus to come to her home. We’ll see the reverse hospitality in this story, too.

There’s no mention of brother Lazarus in this passage, but we know he’s part of the household. It’s an unusual family, don’t you think? You have three adult siblings living together. That would be very unusual today. There’s no mention of spouses. Women who had no family connection in those days were destitute. Lazarus has created a space for his sisters who seem to have no other connection. That these two women live with their brother tells us that Lazarus is a compassionate soul.

He was originally the one who created a space for his sisters, and the two of them seem to have settled in very well! Luke tells us that Martha invites Jesus into HER home! This is a household where all three siblings are equally at home.

So Jesus arrives at Bethany. Martha is aware of it, and she invites him to stay with her. When Jesus and his disciples arrive at her house, Martha is busy taking care of hospitality needs. Accommodations need to be prepared, the food readied, water is brought for the washing of feet. There is a lot to do! Martha was a busy woman.

You can feel her energy! She’s getting her steps in! And then imagine Martha’s outrage when she sees Mary sitting leisurely at the feet of Jesus!

There are different ways to demonstrate care and love to another person. Some people are verbally demonstrative. Others are huggers. Martha was a woman who demonstrated her love through service. She made sure to provide for the needs of those she loved. Martha was a Capable Woman. She had a mental list of everything she wanted in place to take care of her visitors’ needs.

But Mary is cut from a different bolt of cloth. Mary shows her devotion by being with that person, by being physically near them and being truly present. Mary seems oblivious to all the things so important to Martha. But Mary’s inactivity meant that Martha would have to work doubly hard. So Martha was by herself, seeing to everything that needed to be done. She was checking everything off her prep list while Mary enjoyed Jesus’ company.